The present invention pertains to arming methods and devices for firing a submarine weapon.
Submarine weapons which carry explosive loads include a safety and arming device that fulfills three functions. First, it activates an arming organ to shift from an unarmed position in which the explosive load cannot be fired to an armed position in which the explosive load can be fired. Second, it delays the arming command in order to allow the weapon launcher to withdraw sufficiently before the weapon is armed. Third, it provides safety to the device by prohibiting arming unless specific conditions are met which are related to the nature of the outside environment.
A safety and arming device includes a bistable organ which is the arming organ itself. The bistable organ can be disposed in two positions: an initial unarmed position where it prevents firing and a second armed position where it allows firing. The bistable organ for instance can be a switch inserted in the electric firing circuit and/or a tilting shutter which prevents or allows the sending of the command to fire.
A safety and arming device also includes an activator which controls the movement of the bistable arming organ and consumes energy.
The present invention pertains to arming methods and devices which include new activating means for a bistable organ.
In known arming devices, the activator is usually an electromechanical organ such as a gear motor or an electro-magnet which must be supplied with electric energy. The activator may also be an hydraulic organ such as a jack which uses hydrostatic pressure as a source of energy.
The delay of the tilt of the bistable organ can result from the nature of the activator itself, for example in the case of a gear motor from the time needed for the output shaft of the activator to perform a number of rotations. In other cases, the tilt of the bistable organ must be executed by a distinct delay organ. The safety prevents arming by using the properties of the environment external to the weapon after launching, or the properties of sea water in the case of a submarine weapon, such as hydrostatic pressure or electrical conductivity.